Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Visa Appointments

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The release of the December Visa Bulletin has brought few positive changes for immigrants in both the family sponsored and employment-based preference categories. In this blog post, we share with you everything you need to know regarding the movement (or lack thereof) of the categories for the month of December.

Whether you are applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate overseas or applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the United States, you won’t want to miss these important updates.

Highlights of the December 2023 Visa Bulletin

Unfortunately, the December Visa Bulletin brings little to no changes across most employment-based categories and family-sponsored categories from the previous month of November. The Dates for Filing of all employment and family-sponsored categories remain unchanged from the previous month.

The Final Action Dates for family-sponsored categories also remain unchanged from the previous month.

With respect to the Final Action Dates for the employment categories, EB-2 China will advance by three weeks to October 22, 2019, and EB-3 China will advance to January 22, 2020. The Final Action Dates for the remaining employment-based categories remain unchanged from the previous month.

EB-4 Certain Religious Workers will become unavailable in the month of December.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart December 2023

For the month of December 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that the Dates for Filing chart in the December 2023 Visa Bulletin will continue to be used in determining eligibility for I-485 adjustment of status filings (green card filings inside the US).

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The November Visa Bulletin has arrived! In this blog post we share with you the changes that you can expect to see in the visa bulletin for the upcoming month of November.

Whether you are applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate overseas or applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the United States, you won’t want to miss these important updates.

Overview

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for that particular month in the employment and family preference categories. The purpose of the visa bulletin is to inform immigrants who are subject to the numerical quota system of when they are eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status application. Applicants can determine their place in line by looking at the priority date on their underlying immigrant petition. Applicants with a priority date that is “current” on the Visa Bulletin can move forward with the immigration process, because that means a visa number is available to them.

What are the preference categories that are subject to the numerical limitations?

The Family Sponsored Preference Categories and their annual limits are as follows:

First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:

  1. (F2A) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
  2. (F2B) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents:  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third: (F3) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth: (F4) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

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Want to know what’s going on in the world of immigration? Then you won’t want to miss these brand-new updates from the U.S. Department of State.

Digital Visa Authorization – New Concept

The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has revealed that the agency is floating the idea of providing a digital visa authorization (DVA) for immigrant and nonimmigrant U.S. visa applicants applying at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas. The digital visa authorization (DVA) would replace the need for printing traditional U.S. visas inside foreign passports.

The agency will conduct an experimental pilot testing the digital visa concept at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, which will issue limited digital visa authorizations for a small number of K-1 (fiancé(e)) visas as they are single-entry (single use) visas. Such K-1 visas will only be issued to those who plan to travel directly to the United States from Dublin.

If the pilot is successful, the agency may extend digital visa authorizations to other visa classes and additional posts in the future.

The U.S. CBP Document Validation program will digitally notify airlines when a traveler has valid travel credentials, including a DVA.

Why is the pilot being tested in Dublin?

According to the State Department, “U.S. Embassy Dublin is an ideal location to conduct [the] initial DVA proof of concept thanks to our historically strong partnership with the Irish government, the ingenuity of the consular section at [the] embassy there, the presence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance procedures at Dublin Airport, and the participation of airlines flying out of Dublin directly to the United States who are already enrolled in CBP’s Document Validation program.”

More information will be provided as the digital visa authorization program is being developed.

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the reopening of an international field office in Havana, Cuba.

The Havana office will assist with U.S. immigration benefits and services, including conducting interviews, processing cases for pending Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) requests, and Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions, and other limited appointment-only services such as collecting biometrics for U visa applications.

Services at the Havana Field Office will be available by appointment only.  USCIS has updated the USCIS International Immigration Offices page with more information about services and appointments available at the Havana Field Office.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that the decision to reopen the Havana Field Office was made to, “reduce unlawful entries, deny resources to ruthless smuggling organizations, and streamline access to lawful, safe, and orderly pathways for those seeking humanitarian relief.”

This move marks a restoration of American relations in Cuba. During the Trump administration, the Havana Field Office was closed, following the suspension of operations in 2017 after the U.S. Department of State ordered all non-essential personnel and families to depart Cuba.

On June 9, 2022, the Biden administration announced it would be resuming operations under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) program, to provide a safe, orderly pathway for certain Cuban beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant petitions (Form I-130) to wait in the United States for their immigrant visas to become available.

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In this blog post, we share with you an important announcement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Carrier Liaison Program.

The agency has announced that certain nationals participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), who have been physically present in Cuba, or who are dual nationals of Cuba and a country participating in the Visa Waiver Program, will be ineligible to gain admission to the United States using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization also known as ESTA.

According to CBP, beginning January 12, 2021, the Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, causing the above-mentioned individuals to become ineligible for travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.

Later, on July 6th the Department of Homeland Security updated its Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) online application and mobile application to reflect these changes.

Why has this happened?

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (“the Act”) makes nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries who have been present in a country designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST), as well as those who are dual nationals of both a VWP country and a country designated as an State Sponsor of Terrorism at the time of applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), ineligible for travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.

Since Cuba has been named a State Sponsor of Terrorism, these restrictions will now be enforced against nationals participating in the VWP program who have been present in Cuba or are dual nations of Cuba and a VWP country.

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We are excited to share with you a new self-service tool released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Beginning on June 28th USCIS has announced that biometrics service appointments can be rescheduled online using your myUSCIS online account.

Benefit requestors, attorneys, and accredited representatives will be able to take advantage of this new service so long as rescheduling of biometrics is done BEFORE the date of the scheduled biometrics appointment.

This will provide a great advantage to the public by reducing the burdens on the USCIS Contact Center and improve efficiency.

Before this announcement, benefit requestors and accredited representatives could only request to reschedule a biometric services appointment by calling the USCIS Contact Center.

With this new tool, those individuals who already have a myUSCIS online account or those who create an online account can reschedule most requests for biometric services appointments without having to call the Contact Center, regardless of whether their pending case was submitted online or by mail.

The new tool, however, cannot be used to reschedule an appointment that already has been rescheduled two or more times, is within 12 hours, or that has already passed.

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Readers of the July Visa Bulletin may have been surprised to learn that the final action date for the employment-based third preference category for nationals of India retrogressed by more than 3 years and 5 months from June 15, 2012 (in the June Visa Bulletin) to January 1, 2009 (in the July Visa Bulletin).

What is the Employment-Based Third Preference Category also known as EB-3?

The employment-based third preference category (or EB-3) is reserved for three types of subcategories of immigrants: skilled workers, professionals, or other workers. No matter the subcategory, immigrants must have an approved labor certification from the Department of Labor and a permanent full-time job offer from a U.S. employer.

What are the subcategories?

  • “Skilled workers” are defined as persons whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years training or experience, that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature. The skilled worker must meet the educational, training, or experience requirements of the job offer. Relevant post-secondary education may be considered as training.
  • “Professionals” are defined as persons whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate or foreign equivalent degree and are a member of the professions.
  • The “other workers” subcategory is for persons performing unskilled labor requiring less than 2 years training or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature.

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Certain types of nonimmigrants will be expected to shell out more money for the nonimmigrant visa process.

The State Department has announced that starting June 17, 2023, nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based nonimmigrant visas such as student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, and J visas), will increase from $160 to $185.

Additionally, processing fees for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205.

Fees for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (nonimmigrant E category) visa will also increase from $205 to $315.

What if I pay my nonimmigrant visa fee prior to June 17, 2023?

In this case you are in luck. Nonimmigrant visa fees paid prior to June 17, 2023, will remain valid through the expiration date on your nonimmigrant visa fee payment receipt.

Why the increase?

The Department of State has said that nonimmigrant visa fees are set based on the actual cost of providing nonimmigrant visa services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services.

The agency uses Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.

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It’s that time of the month again. Time to share the latest trends and projections of the July Visa Bulletin!

To help you prepare for your upcoming immigrant visa or green card filing, in this blog post, we share what you can expect to see in the upcoming month’s visa bulletin for family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories.

Here are some of the highlights from the July 2023 Visa Bulletin

Employment-based categories

  • EB-3 India will retrogress by more than 3.5 years to January 1, 2009. EB-3 for all countries except China will retrogress by 4 months to February 1, 2022.
  • EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 cutoff dates will remain the same in July as before.
  • Dates for Filing cutoff dates in the employment-based categories remain the same as June.

Family-sponsored categories

Dates for Filing cutoff dates – Advancements in July:

  • F-1 Mexico will advance by 1 month to January 1, 2003 from December 1, 2002
  • F-1 China, India, World will advance by 8 months to September 1, 2017 from January 1, 2017
  • F2B Mexico will advance by 3 months to April 1, 2002 from January 1, 2002
  • F3 China, India, World will advance by 3 weeks to March 1, 2010 from February 8, 2010
  • F4 China and World will advance by 1 month to March 1, 2008 from February 1, 2008
  • F4 Mexico will advance by 2 weeks to April 15, 2001 from April 1, 2001

Final Action cutoff dates – Advancements in July:

  • F1 Mexico will advance by 3 weeks to April 22, 2001, from April 1, 2001
  • F2B Mexico will advance by 2 months to August 1, 2001, from June 1, 2001
  • F3 China, India, World will advance by 2 weeks to December 22, 2008, from December 8, 2008
  • F3 Mexico will advance by 2.5 months to January 15, 1998, from November 1, 1997
  • F4 China and World will advance by 2 weeks to April 22, 2007, from April 8, 2007

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Department of State releases the visa bulletin on a monthly basis, which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers for that particular month in the employment and family preference categories.

Adjustment of Status Filing Chart July 2023

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet published guidance regarding the appropriate chart to use for adjustment of status filings in the month of July. Once the announcement is made, USCIS will indicate whether they will accept adjustment of status applications based on the Final Action Dates chart or the Dates for Filing chart. As soon as we have that information, we will provide it in this blog post.

You may also find the information here once it is published:

July 2023 Visa Bulletin Dates for Filing Cutoff Dates

 Employment-Based Categories

FINAL ACTION DATES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCE CASES

According to the Department of State’s July 2023 Visa Bulletin, the following Final Action cutoff dates will apply for employment-based categories, which will determine whether an adjustment of status application can be filed with USCIS in July:

  • EB-1: All countries will remain current, except for India and China, which will have a cutoff date of February 1, 2022
  • EB-2: India will remain at January 1, 2011. China will remain at June 8, 2019. All other countries will remain at February 15, 2022
  • EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers: India will retrogress by 3.5 years to January 1, 2009, and China will remain at April 1, 2019. All other countries will retrogress by four months to February 1, 2022.
  • EB-3 Other Workers: India will retrogress by 3.5 years to January 1, 2009, China will remain at September 1, 2015. All other countries will remain at January 1, 2020.
  • EB-4: All countries will remain at September 1, 2018.
  • EB-5: For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), China will remain at September 8, 2015, and India will remain at April 1, 2017. All other countries will remain current. The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.

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The Department of State raised eyebrows earlier this month when it released information that it will be reducing the waiting period for 221(G) “administrative processing,” in an effort to process visas more efficiently.

While this is welcome news, in practice it may not mean much. Consulates and Embassies have been notoriously secretive when it comes to 221(G) administrative processing and do not reveal the reason for a visa applicant being placed in administrative processing in the first place, nor the type of security checks that are being conducted.

What is 221(G) Administrative Processing?

First, let’s explain what administrative processing is. When an applicant visits a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas for their visa interview, there are only two possible outcomes that can occur at the conclusion of their interview. The Consular Officer may choose to either issue or “refuse” the visa. A refusal is not the same as a denial. It simply means that the visa applicant has not established his or her eligibility for the visa they are seeking for the time being, and the Consulate needs additional time or requires further information either from the visa applicant or another source to determine the applicant’s eligibility for the visa.

In most cases, visa applicants who have been “refused” will require further administrative processing.

How will I know if I have been placed in 221(G) administrative processing?

Visa applicants placed in administrative processing are often given what is called a “Notice of 221(G) Refusal” at the conclusion of their interview, which states that the visa application has been “refused” under section 221(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Notice should indicate whether additional administrative processing is required for your case, and whether any further action is required on your part, such as providing additional documentation or further information to process your visa.

However, in some cases visa applicants are not given such a Notice and will later discover that they have been placed in 221(G) administrative processing upon checking their visa status on the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) visa status check webpage.

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